Tourney taps top Africans at bad time for European sides

JEFF RUSNAK SOCCER

January 20, 2008|JEFF RUSNAK SOCCER

There's been more clamor and complaint than usual in European domestic leagues about the timing of the African Nations Cup, which begins today with host Ghana playing Guinea in the capital city, Accra.

The kvetching has gotten louder in recent years as the number of Africans playing in Europe has grown. Roughly 100 first-flight players based in England, France, Spain and Germany, 80 of them from England's Premiership and France's Ligue 1, have been redeployed to their respective national sides for the 16-team tournament, which concludes Feb. 10.

Africa gives its best players to Europe, at a price, of course, then takes them back for a few weeks in midseason every two years. Chelsea coach Avram Grant, who will lose Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba and Ghana midfielder Michael Essien, said top clubs might be less inclined to buy African stars because of the January scheduling conflict.

"When they started the African Nations Cup [in 1957] there were not so many players playing in Europe," Grant said. "Now the Africans have many players in the Premier League and in other leagues - and in my opinion it will be even more in the next few years. ... It's not good for the players or the clubs. It would be better in the summer but I cannot change it, I can only say my opinion."

Clubs that consider avoiding African stars will do so at their own peril. Besides Drogba and Essien at Chelsea, Africa has sent Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon) and Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast) to Barcelona; Emmanuel Eboue and Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast) to Arsenal; and Mahamadou Diarra (Mali) to Real Madrid. The pipeline of talent may yet rival South America, if it hasn't already.

African officials made a small concession on the January date last week when they agreed to start the 2010 tournament 10 days earlier. That didn't appease FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who has ordered it to be played in the summer beginning in 2016 to conform to the international calendar. FIFA may get its way, though the Africans aren't conceding the point just yet.

African officials aren't trying to rub the Europeans the wrong way. The Nations Cup is played in January simply because the weather is more agreeable for players and fans. The average temperature in Ghana is higher in January, about 90 degrees, than in summer (about 83). But the summer is rainy season and a wet field is viewed as more oppressive than a dry heat.

While European clubs figure out ways to do without over the next few weeks, 10 of the 16 teams in the Nations Cup will be led by European coaches, including France's Roger Lemerre (Tunisia) and Germany's Berti Vogts (Nigeria). Two-time Brazil World Cup champion Carlos Alberto Parreira is coaching 2010 World Cup host South Africa.

The host has won the last two tournaments: Egypt in 2006 and Tunisia under Lemerre in 2004. Ghana is a four-time winner and record seven-time finalist, having won last in 1982. The favorite, however, is Ivory Coast, with its roster of seven players from five EPL clubs.

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